Fabio Quartararo has made it clear that hopes of a new Yamaha MotoGP upgrade are almost over, revealing that his sole focus is now on extracting every possible advantage from the current package as the Japanese manufacturer turns its attention to a future 850cc project. The Frenchman, who remains Yamaha’s leading light throughout the challenging 2026 Sachsenring weekend, delivered a practical performance to claim seventh place at the German Grand Prix – despite a turbulent start and minimal expectations for technical progress.
Quartararo started Sunday’s race with chaos on the opening lap, dropping from sixth to ninth after a crash at turn three and a close encounter with Jorge Martin at turn five. “I almost crashed in turn three in the opening lap. Then, I touched Jorge in turn five. Then, he got a little optimistic in turn eight! But I’m not complaining; this is racing,” Quartararo commented, summarizing the frantic early exchanges. Further declines, including crashes for Fabio Di Gianntonio and the retirement of Alex Márquez, dropped Quartararo to seventh, a position he maintained at the checkered flag.
Reflecting on his race strategy, Quartararo admitted, “My goal was to finish P9 because the pace was exactly the same as yesterday. I mean, it was going to be a great result (for us), and then Alex and DiGia crashed, so we finished P7.” The 2021 World Champion was once again the top Yamaha finisher, continuing his pattern of outperforming his teammate Alex Rins and the rest of the Yamaha squad.
Quartararo’s weekend was marked by a search for continuity in the machinery. After falling to Jack Miller in Friday’s practice, he pushed for a return to the set-up that has produced his best performance this season. “On Friday, I wanted the bike I raced on today. The set-up. But the team wanted to try something different from what we used in Assen, but actually on Saturday morning we went back on this bike, and I was fast,” explained Quartararo. He stressed the importance of sticking with this configuration: “This is the bike I raced at Le Mans (and Barcelona). It’s interesting to see that the best results I’ve achieved this year have been with this bike, with this setup.”
With Yamaha’s development focus shifting towards the 2027 850cc MotoGP project, Quartararo no longer expects any meaningful upgrades to the current V4 machine. “Even though I knew I wasn’t staying at Yamaha from the beginning of the season, I expected something from them in the form of improvement. Because I want to feel better for myself, as a result, but also for the brand. But now I know they are completely focused on the 850. So, of course, I don’t expect anything. I’m not demanding anything, but just trying to maximize everything (we’ve already done that),” he Announced.
Quartararo entered the summer break in the world championship in 14th place, still with twice as many points as his Yamaha teammate Alex Rins, underlining his status as the manufacturer’s best-performing rider in a turbulent campaign.
Don’t miss a second with the new app where you can watch live timing of MotoGP, Formula 1, NASCAR, IndyCar and much more: just press – Here (Free for all users)
